Penn Teller

Known in equal parts for their illusions, gore and wit, Penn & Teller are celebrating their 20 th anniversary of performing in Las Vegas with a six-year extension to their contract at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino . In a city where magicians come and go, Penn & Teller have demonstrated their staying power. After sold-out runs on Broadway, the demented duo arrived in Sin City in 1993. “When we first moved to Vegas, our hoity-toity New York art and theater friends all screamed in horror,” Penn Jillette, the taller, more vocal of the two, was quoted as saying in a news release.

LAS VEGAS - Telling friends that you're heading to Las Vegas for some Shakespeare is a bit like claiming you read Playboy for the interviews. Well, I did indeed head to Vegas last weekend to see "The Tempest," and I can guarantee that I was the only person on my morning flight reading Harold C. Goddard's classic "The Meaning of Shakespeare. " Just a few pages from the chapter on "The Tempest," mind you. The guys downing pre-lunch wine and cocktails around me were whooping it up "Hangover"-style.

Penn & Teller will go "Off the Deep End" in an NBC special to air Nov. 13. The two-hour show will be the first magic special performed entirely underwater, NBC said. Penn & Teller will do tricks with sharks and dolphins and make a submarine "disappear." From Associated Press * FINALLY Splitting: Tori Spelling's husband has filed for divorce, a little more than a year after the couple married.

The subject of the documentary "Tim's Vermeer" isn't Johannes Vermeer, the 17th century Dutch artist renowned for his luminescent paintings. The true protagonist of the movie is Tim -- Tim Jenison, that is -- an unassuming computer engineer from Texas who embarks on a journey to upend the way we think about Vermeer and his masterpieces. Jenison believes the Dutch artist used a clever contraption of mirrors to aid in the creation of his paintings. Jenison's attempt to replicate Vermeer's "The Music Lesson" using such a device forms the backbone of the documentary, which opened in December for an awards-qualifying run and is back in cinemas starting Friday.

Always a man of few (if any) words, the latter half of the enduring comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller will help give a visual voice to the Geffen Playhouse's upcoming stage adaptation of "The Exorcist. " Scheduled to open July 11, the adaptation features Teller as "creative consultant," which sounds a little like he'll be responsible for honing the production's wordless reactions given his day job as silent but game foil to his longtime partner, the garrulous Penn Jillette. In reality, however, this isn't the first time Teller has ventured behind the stage, where Penn & Teller have made a home in Vegas for six nights a week since 2001.

NEW YORK -- When the popular magician and entertainer Penn Jillette walked into the offices of Hollywood executives several years ago to pitch a documentary about the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, he was met with skepticism. After all, Jillette and his partner Teller were known for their cheeky stage act and television work, such as “Penn & Teller: Bull - ,” which aired for many years on Showtime. Surely this was a gag? “They thought I was doing some 'Borat' act on them,” Jillette said at the New York Film Festival on Thursday.

For years now, Penn & Teller have been opening their act with the line, "We're just a couple of eccentric guys who've learned to do a few cool things," but when they opened it Tuesday at the handsome Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, they made it literal. This latest edition of their show is not called "The Refrigerator Tour" for nothing. They start it by dropping a refrigerator on themselves. Why are we not surprised? Good question. Something of a cold wind was blowing through the act Tuesday.

An American flag is on fire at the Wilshire Theatre. Or so it seems. No, Penn & Teller are not protesting the actions of the U.S. government. They're displaying respect for the principles that are symbolized by the American flag. This weeklong gig by magic's middle-aged scamps marks the local unfurling of their new flag piece, in the second act. Perhaps it was inspired by the indiscriminate flag-waving that followed the events of Sept. 11.

Penn, the big, hostile, ponytailed blabbermouth, and Teller, the small, angelic, curly-headed mute, are back, performing live in Los Angeles for the first time in seven years. And they've got guns. That line is stolen from the press release. Reviewing "Penn & Teller" poses the same problem as reviewing stand-up comedy. All you want to do is repeat their best lines. The duo that made magic hip will play the Wilshire Theatre for two weeks only. And they do in fact have guns.

Sunday "Hollywood Aliens and Monsters" / 5 and 9 p.m. A&E No doubt the blockbuster earnings of "Men in Black" and "Independence Day" led to the creation of this two-hour retrospective. Hosted by Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, the program counts down the long line of sci-fi films ranging from the silent "Metropolis" to '50s fare such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "War of the Worlds" on to "Star Wars," "E.T." and the "Alien" series. **** "The Third Twin" / 9 p.m. CBS.

If you missed the very fine, fine-art documentary "Tim's Vermeer" during its brief stop last month, it is back in town for its official run. Director Teller (better known as the droller half of the ironic comedy/magic team Penn & Teller) follows inventor Tim Jenison's journey to understand how the 17th-century painter Johannes Vermeer tripped the light so fantastically. A tale of art and obsession unfolds as Jenison experiments with various optical techniques Vermeer might have used to achieve his luminous interplay of light and shadow.

Teller, the usually silent half of the renegade magician duo, Penn & Teller, recently perched on a couch at the Geffen Playhouse, where he had a lot to say about two projects he has helmed as director - "Play Dead," magician Todd Robbins' one-man creep show, which runs through Dec. 22 at the Geffen's Skirball Theater, and "Tim's Vermeer," about inventor Tim Jenison's quest to unearth the Dutch painter's techniques and re-create his work in a Texas warehouse....

As the Geffen Playhouse's revival of the 2010 off-Broadway hit "Play Dead" came to its macabre, gory and unexpectedly palpable crescendo Wednesday, I was ready to rush home and describe my blood-chilling experiences. But then, at his curtain call, star and co-author Todd Robbins asked me (and everyone else) not to. "Don't give our tricks away," he urged, with the same twinkle in his eye that had persuaded many audience members to follow his alarming, counterintuitive instructions during the highly interactive evening. Why shouldn't I?

NEW YORK -- When the popular magician and entertainer Penn Jillette walked into the offices of Hollywood executives several years ago to pitch a documentary about the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, he was met with skepticism. After all, Jillette and his partner Teller were known for their cheeky stage act and television work, such as “Penn & Teller: Bull - ,” which aired for many years on Showtime. Surely this was a gag? “They thought I was doing some 'Borat' act on them,” Jillette said at the New York Film Festival on Thursday.

On your next visit to Vegas, want to hit some cool places you've yet to discover? If so, Las Vegas Weekly magazine's “2013 Weekly Awards” may include just what you're looking for. Some funky faves were among the Weekly's awards announced at a party Wednesday. They fall into more than 100 categories. Here are a dozen picks worth checking out: Best Cirque show: "The Beatles: Love" at the Mirage Best cocktail list for non-drinkers: Lakeside at Wynn Best gay bar: the Garage (1487 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas)

Known in equal parts for their illusions, gore and wit, Penn & Teller are celebrating their 20 th anniversary of performing in Las Vegas with a six-year extension to their contract at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino . In a city where magicians come and go, Penn & Teller have demonstrated their staying power. After sold-out runs on Broadway, the demented duo arrived in Sin City in 1993. “When we first moved to Vegas, our hoity-toity New York art and theater friends all screamed in horror,” Penn Jillette, the taller, more vocal of the two, was quoted as saying in a news release.

Teller is best known as the smaller, silent half of those outrageous bad boys of magic, Penn & Teller. He's also the loving, only son of Joe and Irene Teller, two quirky artists who live in Philadelphia and who have devoted their lives to their only son, whom they call "Kid." The recently published "When I'm Dead All This Will Be Yours" (Blast Books, $24.95) is Teller's sweet and funny portrait of his father (a.k.a. Pad) and mother (a.k.a. Mam).

Teller, the usually silent half of the renegade magician duo, Penn & Teller, recently perched on a couch at the Geffen Playhouse, where he had a lot to say about two projects he has helmed as director - "Play Dead," magician Todd Robbins' one-man creep show, which runs through Dec. 22 at the Geffen's Skirball Theater, and "Tim's Vermeer," about inventor Tim Jenison's quest to unearth the Dutch painter's techniques and re-create his work in a Texas warehouse....

The Season 10 "Hell's Kitchen" finale pits Justin Antiorio against Christina Wilson. But some of you -- yawn! -- said you saw that one coming, and you didn't need Penn & Teller or a crystal ball to figure it out. Seems some of you are not happy with Fox previews of the two-part finale that gave a little too much away. Dana got her walking papers but was able to keep her chef's jacket. Chef Gordon Ramsay heaped high praise on her but said she just wasn't ready to help run his new Las Vegas steakhouse.

Always a man of few (if any) words, the latter half of the enduring comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller will help give a visual voice to the Geffen Playhouse's upcoming stage adaptation of "The Exorcist. " Scheduled to open July 11, the adaptation features Teller as "creative consultant," which sounds a little like he'll be responsible for honing the production's wordless reactions given his day job as silent but game foil to his longtime partner, the garrulous Penn Jillette. In reality, however, this isn't the first time Teller has ventured behind the stage, where Penn & Teller have made a home in Vegas for six nights a week since 2001.